In event of emergency, remember Alf's instructions

A Delta Air Lines in-flight safety video features
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, reprising his role as Roger Murdock from the 1980 spoof movie "Airplane!" ﻿

Photo: HANDOUT, HO

The spoof movie "Airplane!" is becoming the basis for something real, 34 years after its release.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is reprising his role as pilot Roger Murdock in Delta Air Lines' in-flight safety video, which began appearing Thursday.

He doesn't give Clarence clearance, and isn't told "Roger, Roger!" He merely appears, with a knowing wink, as the punch line to what is a different take on the traditional safety video, including 1980s references like a Devo hat, a heavy metal guitarist, Valley girls and Alf trying on an oxygen mask.

All in the name of safety - and marketing.

It's the latest example of how airlines are rethinking what has been one of the most ignored, if important, few minutes of any trip. The stated aim is to focus attention on what to do during an emergency. But Delta and other airlines increasingly see them as something more - an opportunity to bring buzz to their brands.

"Airlines recognize that safety videos are beyond boring, that travelers aren't paying attention to them," said Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst for Hudson Crossing. "But they're required, and the content they contain is important."

Enter the marketing departments, which are increasingly taking over the creation of the videos.

"If they're fun, more people will pay attention to important information," Harteveldt said.

Regardless of their tone, all airlines' in-flight safety videos' content must meet the standards of the civil aviation authority in the country where they operate.

One inspiration for the new approach is Southwest Airlines, which lets its attendants riff, in their live announcements, on the traditional message, "as long as they continue to specify the required safety procedures," a spokeswoman said..